Cross Over Into The Spirit World
by highpockets
Summary: Seven years after the war ended, Azula escapes imprisonment with frightening new powers and a sinister agenda that could destroy more than one world. Zuko and Sokka get stranded in the spirit world to follow her. Separated from the rest of Team Avatar they are the only ones who can stop her. Sokka/Zuko Please see full summery inside.


******Summery:** Seven years after the war ended, Azula escapes imprisonment with frightening new powers and a sinister agenda that could destroy more than one world. Zuko and Sokka get stranded in the spirit world to follow her. Separated from the rest of Team Avatar they are the only ones who can stop her. Together on their adventure they discover strange and wondrous worlds, new friends, powerful enemies, and an inseparable bond with each other. Some spoilers for The Promise & Legend of Korra. Warnings for Sokka/Zuko, genderbending, canon pairings, and a bit of my signature crack-style humor.

**Disclaimer:** Avatar the Last Airbender is owned by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Koniezko and Nickelodeon. Great job guys!

Re-edited: fixed the bold font and added some notes to the Author's section at the bottom.

Chapter One

The Spirit Festival

Just outside the Fire Nation capital a lone guard did his nightly rounds in the most secure insane asylum in the whole country. There were many patients here, but one patient in particular warranted the most security. Azula, the Fire Nation princess and sister of Fire Lord Zuko. She was also completely insane. Zuko needed someone he could trust to keep his sister from escaping, so he gave the job of being the head of security in the asylum to his old lieutenant, Jee. He was happy, it was after all a big promotion, it was better pay and better prestige then serving on dinky ship under an exiled prince. Jee counted himself fortunate for being one of the few to come out of the war with a promotion and an honorable reputation.

Jee did his rounds like any other guard in this place, he wasn't the type that took well to staying behind a desk. On nights like this one, he felt restless and did not feel like doing paperwork. Jee shivered, the air around him feeling cold. "Is it winter already? Wait a minute, it doesn't get cold here!"

Jee had a bad feeling, he rushed to Azula's room. As he ran closer to the most secure room in the asylum the air got colder and colder, unnaturally so. Torches had gone out and frost covered the walls. A lead weight sank to Jee's stomach as he saw the door to Azula's room was off it's hinges. Without hesitation he sounded the alarm and then looked in the room. Jee had seen many horrors during the war, but nothing like this. Jee felt himself almost gagging at the sight of one his guards dead on the floor. He was relatively new to the place and a good man. He was also idealistic and didn't deserve to die in such a horrifying manner. He had been stripped of all of his clothing and his face was frozen in a mixture of terror and pleasure. It looked like he had all the heat in his body stolen, like it had been sucked out of him. The very room around him felt like it had all the heat stolen. Jee heard several guard running down the hall toward him. "Captain Jee! We heard the alarm! What happened- Oh Spirits!"

Jee heard the sound of one his men lose his dinner when they saw the frozen dead body. Jee looked around the rest of the room, the asylum's most dangerous patient was gone. He barked orders to his guards. "Gird your stomachs men! I want a messenger hawk sent to the Fire Lord immediately! His sister has escaped."

Over the main island of the Fire Nation flew a ten ton bison carrying seven people and a lemur. Zuko relaxed in the back next to Sokka contemplating the last seven years. It had been seven years since the war had ended and seven years since Zuko had been crowned Fire Lord, his father imprisoned and his sister put in an insane asylum. The first couple of years of his reign had been immensely stressful. His momentary lapse in judgement over the Yu Dao incident almost reignited the war, almost cost him his friends, and he almost lost his life. It also destroyed his relationship with Mai, he hadn't heard from her since she dumped him. 'At least I'm not alone anymore, not only do I still have my uncle, but I have all my friends as well.'

Zuko was not alone at all. Suki and several of her warriors stayed to be his bodyguards. Suki and her warriors came to him as bodyguards at Mai's request, before she dumped him of course. Part of Zuko felt Suki stayed out of guilt for being unintentionally responsible for Mai dumping him. Even though she ratted him out and told Mai that he was secretly visiting his father, the whole relationship fizzling out was not her fault, Suki merely sped up the inevitable. If he learned anything from that disaster of a relationship it was this: Fire Lords and a healthy love life don't go together.

Sokka had truly surprised him when he asked if he could stay with him. It was right after the Yu Dao issue had been settled and he had recovered from his injuries. They were in his uncle's tea shop playing a game of pai sho when he asked him.

_ Clack. Sokka put a tile down on the board. He looked at him with a nervous smile and scratched the back of his head. Zuko knew that look, he wanted something. "So... Zuko. I wanted ask you something..." Sokka trailed off and Zuko waited for the request for shopping money or new messenger hawk or some random thing for one of his crazy ideas. Clack. Zuko put another tile down and picked up his cup of tea. "Can I move in with you?"_

_ Zuko choked on his tea and spraying the pai sho board and the floor with his uncle's favorite blend of ginseng and jasmine. "You actually want to live with me?! In the Fire Nation?! Under the same roof as generations of crazed, power hungry, pyromaniacs?!"_

_ "Well... when you put it like that, the idea seems less appealing, but my answer's still yes. Suki's there, remember? She's pretty much my main reason for staying, and not to mention it could be kinda fun for you and me to hang out and do guy stuff, you know?"_

_ "I tell you're lying snoozles!" Toph piped up._

_ Zuko looked curiously at the water tribe warrior who face turned to the color of a beet. "Alright already! I'll tell him the truth." Sokka yelled back at Toph. He turned back to Zuko with color still on his cheeks, and expression that was mixture of nervous and determined. "I know this going to sound corny, but Suki isn't the main reason I want to move in, the main reason is you. It wasn't until Suki mentioned it that I really noticed. She said that you looked lonely and she's right. I want to stay with you because you need a friend. That pointy gold thing on top of your head is a heavy burden, so don't make your friends suffer by watching you break something from carrying it. If you suffer, we suffer together, that's what being a friend is. So, after hearing all this touchy-feely crap, will you let me move in?"_

_ Zuko sat in stunned silence for an awkwardly stretched moment, he thought for moment on Sokka's request. 'Damn, he's right. The whole Yu Dao issue wouldn't have escalated as far as it did if I had a friend around to keep me from relapsing and turning into my father. Sokka has a more functional moral compass and a more level head than I do. Aang will be too busy being the avatar to keep an eye on me every day. Besides I miss doing guy stuff with Sokka, and I have been a little lonely.' Sokka looked down at the pai sho board glancing back and forth at him. Sokka jumped a little when Zuko spoke suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I don't think it was corny at all. You were speaking the truth. Being the Fire Lord is a heavy burden by itself, but in addition I have to clean up the horrific mess left by my forefathers. If I had learned to trust my friends more, Yu Dao would not have gotten as bad as it did, and Mai wouldn't have dumped me. I do need someone. So thanks for being my friend, if you want you stay you would be welcome." Zuko looked away, feeling a little awkward._

_ Sokka jumped up and gave him a hug. "Thanks buddy! I'll be the best roomie ever! By the way..." Clack. Sokka put another tile on the pai sho board. Zuko's eyes widened. Sokka won. Sokka's grin widened. "It looks like you've been pi showed up! Hahaha! Get it? Pi showed- Hey, what's that look on your face? Are you constipated or- Holy crap that's a smile! I got the king of jerkbenders to smile!"_

_ Zuko tried to keep the smile from cracking his seemingly permanent scowl, but failed. He felt an alien sensation in his chest, it was a strange warm and fuzzy feeling that Zuko couldn't name._

Ever since that day the two of them have been as thick as thieves. For the first time in many years Zuko felt something akin to happiness. He had always wanted brother instead of the psycho sister that he got, Sokka had to a lesser extent felt the same. When Sokka moved in he didn't know what position to give him for the flimsy excuse to keep his friend around. He didn't want to stick someone with his intelligence and versatility in a useless job. Suki jokingly suggested court jester or concubine, which they both shot down immediately. Eventually Sokka came to be the representative for the Southern Water Tribe. It was official, important sounding, and best of all it meant he could take one of the few people who made him laugh to boring meetings.

The fact that Sokka spent most of his time at Zuko's side and that Zuko had yet to marry fueled the rumor mill. The Fire Sages, official advisors to the Fire Lord, were all too eager to marry him off and quell the rumors. Zuko couldn't care less what people thought of his personal preferences, there was nothing but platonic feelings between him and Sokka. 'Sokka has Suki! Why do people ignore this fact?! I swear if I had a gold piece for every time I had to say 'No, we're _just_ good friends' the Fire Nation's economy would be booming.' Zuko silently cursed his ancestors for the debt the war had cost the Fire Nation, Zuko was stuck paying for damages caused by the hundred-year war. 'I'll marry someone someday, but only with someone I love and only when I'm ready. Not when my duties as Fire Lord keep me busy and definitely not to squash the rumor mill.'

Sokka took it upon himself to be the Fire Lord's wingman, with his uncle 'helping'. They had set him up on many dates, and not once was there a second date. They were all awkward, he would flub his words and more often then not his date turned out to be a rabid fangirl. Worst of all they all stared at his scar or noticeably looked everywhere but his burnt face. Either way Zuko went back to his bed alone after every date. Zuko groaned just thinking about his disastrous love life. 'I have about as much skill at wooing women as I do waterbending. How I managed to get together with Mai at all is a miracle. Ugh I can't believe I can actually think of one good thing Azula ever did for me. Maybe Sokka is right, maybe I really do need to get laid.'

Zuko sighed sadly. Everywhere he went he seemed to be painfully aware of other couples and his own single status. Aang and Katara had gotten married, Sokka and Suki were engaged to be married. Even Toph was dating someone, though Zuko for the life of him couldn't remember the man's name or face. Zuko remembered with a blush the day he found out Sokka had given Suki a betrothal necklace, he and their friends were at the Fire Nation palace.

___Zuko blew the double doors open and marched in the dining room dramatically. Zuko spotted Sokka immediately and the words spilled out of his mouth. "Sokka! I want to marry you!"_

_ Silence fell and every head turned and stared at the Fire Lord. Sokka choked on a dumpling, sputtering out bits of food. "You wanna what?!"_

_ A blush crawled on to Zuko's cheeks as he realized the wording he used could be misinterpreted. The weight of many pairs of eyes looking at him made Zuko want to crawl under a rock. "I... Uh... I meant I want to um officiate your wedding."_

_ Sokka chuckled. "Oh that's what you meant! Sorry buddy, but Aang's going to be officiating."_

_ Zuko's looked down dejectedly. Disappointment added to his humiliation, making his stomach twist in knots. He gave the Water Tribe Water a quiet "Oh."_

_ Sokka noticed his friend's extreme discomfort. He put a hand on the firebender's shoulder to cheer him up. "I do however need someone to be my best man. Zuko, will you be my best man?"_

_ Zuko smiled and gave Sokka a hug. "I would be honored Sokka!"_

_ The two men parted when they heard Katara's teasing voice. "So, Suki how does it feel to be marrying a matched pair of fruit-pies?"_

_ The room burst into giggles and the men shoved away from each other with faces the color of beets. Suki replied with a wide smile. "I'm not complaining. Not every girl gets to have two hot guys for the price of one!"_

The young Fire Lord inwardly groaned at the memory. 'They still haven't let me live that down. And spread that rumor about us.'

Zuko thought briefly of his sister who was still locked away in the insane asylum. He would visit her on the holidays and for her birthday, she was still his sister even after all the horrors she had done. Even though her world was reduced to four padded walls and a straightjacket, Zuko made sure she would be treated with some dignity. Azula retained a few luxuries of her old Zuko visited he always brought a gift to help her pass her now infinite time, usually children's books and paint. Apparently she decided to take up art, Zuko hoped that it would give Azula a healthy release for all her anger. Surprisingly the paintings he had seen so far were all peaceful landscapes. 'I would've expected paintings of dead bodies and cities burnt to the ground from her.'

Conversing with Azula was always fruitless for Zuko. She never uttered even a single word to her brother, not even a caustic remark. She would stare blankly everywhere else, but at him. The nurses say that she talks herself when there is no one else in the room and would suddenly fall silent when someone entered. There was one occasion when she was pulled from her catatonic state and looked straight at him like she was aware his presence. It was when he mentioned what he got for Sokka's last birthday. Zuko and Toph had gone shopping together for Sokka's birthday in Republic City, Toph felt like he still owed her 'a life changing field trip' with him. They happened across a weaselly merchant with Sokka's lost space sword for sale. The little dirt ball thought he could pass off the superior craftsmanship of the sword for one his shoddy pieces of crap. Between the ill-tempered Fire Lord and the pissed off metalbending Chief of Police, the merchant was 'gracious' enough to give them the sword free of charge. Zuko does not know why Azula would be so interested in that sword. 'Granted it's a truly unique masterpiece, but Azula was never interested in swords. Why now? Oh well, I never did know how her twisted mind works and I don't think I ever do.'

Zuko snuggled closer into his pillow. He was pulled out of his reverie when he heard sniggering and laughter. He opened his eyes, seeing Iroh, Suki, Aang, Katara, and Toph looking at him with ill-concealed mirth. He realized that he had fallen asleep on Sokka's shoulders and Sokka had fallen asleep on him as well. They were cuddling. Zuko immediately yanked himself from Sokka's embrace only to have the water tribe man fall on top of him and awake with a start. Now Zuko was pinned beneath Sokka in a rather comprising position. They laughed even harder. Toph managed to shoot a comment between rib-aching guffaws. "You girls done cuddling yet or do we need to find you two a room?"

Sokka looked down at Zuko and with a blush he got off of him realizing the suggestive position they were in. He eagerly tried to change the subject. "So, Aang. Are we there yet?"

It worked. Aang took out his map and looked over it. "No not yet. We should have been there by now."

Zuko groaned. Aang had want to go to the Fire Lilies Festival. The festival may celebrate flowers in bloom but it celebrated romance even more. It was a couples event and besides his uncle he was the only one who wasn't paired with anyone at the moment. Worse still he was in his Fire Lord robes and wearing his crown, he was going to stick out like the proverbial camelephant in the room. Now Aang got them lost, a great feat to accomplish since he had two expert natives of the Fire Nation with him. The sun was starting to set and they weren't there yet. "We're lost aren't we?" Zuko voice dripped with bitter sarcasm. "Too bad we don't have native guides with us. You know somebody like the entire ruler of this country you're lost in?"

Aang was about to retort when he spotted lights from many lanterns below. "Hey! There it is! I think? This place isn't on the map... Oh well, let's check it out!"

Zuko looked below and sure enough it was a village amidst a thick forest bustling with people in costumes and lots of lanterns. Zuko knew this part of the Fire Nation and even _he _didn't know this place existed. Appa landed outside the gate and they walked into the village. The group looked at the sight in no small amount of shock. What they thought were people dressed in costumes weren't costumes at all. Iroh knew what they were seeing. "They're spirits!"

Aang agreed. "I can feel it! I think we stumbled into a place where the line between the Spirit World and ours is blurred. This must be some kind of Spirit Festival! Let's go! And don't worry, you guys are with the bridge guy, remember?"

Everyone followed Aang into the village bustling with spirits, their curiosity and trust in the Avatar overrode their fear in spirits. The inviting smells of festival food and the sounds of laughter and music pulled them in. The festival was alight with many multicolored lanterns and spirit venders shouting and advertising their wares with exuberant cries of "Come buy! We offer the best!" Steam rose off of mouth-watering food with crowds of strange looking creatures and crowded around. Otherworldly women danced to the ecstatic beat of the music with their skirts twirling. Aang dragged Katara to the dance floor. "Come on Katara, let's dance. I'll meet up with you guys later!"

Iroh and Toph went to check out the vendors selling food. Suki went to check out vendor selling fans, leaving Sokka and Zuko alone. Sokka clapped Zuko's shoulders and had a familiar grin on his face. "Looks like the girls are gone. You know what this means buddy. As of now I'm going to be you're wingman! Come on this place looks promising! I'm going help you get laid!"

Sokka dragged Zuko into a building decorated with red lanterns with posters advertising a kabuki theatre troupe. "Uh Sokka, I don't think we'll find any women here for me."

Sokka ignored Zuko's protests and dragged him inside to a packed theatre. "Nonsense! Did you see those posters out there? They had lots of lovely ladies on them!"

What Sokka didn't know that Zuko did was that this Kabuki theatre troupe was an all-male one. The 'women' on the posters weren't women at all. Sokka hushed Zuko when he tried to tell him about this tidbit of information. The play was a story Zuko was familiar with, 'The Sun, The Warrior, and The Face-Stealer'. It was one of his favorites stories his mother used to read to him as a child. Zuko could not see who the actors were because of the masks and thick make-up. The actor playing the Warrior looked a lot like Sokka, but it was hard to tell underneath the traditional kabuki make-up. Zuko nudged his friend beside him. "Hey Sokka, do you have a long lost brother or something? That guy looks kinda like you, but more manly and heroic looking."

Sokka pouted. "Hey! We're supposed to be checking out ladies not men, like that hottie over there!"

Zuko looked at the 'hottie' Sokka was drooling over. It was a man playing the part of the Sun Spirit. He was dressed in an ornate gold and red kimono and a phoenix mask covered the upper half of his face. If Zuko didn't know any better he would say that the man was a woman. Zuko's eye's widened when he heard the man speak. 'That voice! Is that mom? It can't be...' Zuko kept those thoughts to himself and watched the play.

The story was about how the Sun Spirit, a great phoenix that carried the sun across the sky, fell in love with a mortal warrior. For three days at dusk before she sank into the ocean she gave the warrior three gifts, and every gift he refused her. The first was a sword made from iron fallen from the heavens, the second a magical mirror, and the last was a golden crown she made from dragon's fire. Frustrated the spirit asked him what he wanted and he said that all he wanted was to make a family with her. Overjoyed that her beloved returned her love, the Sun Spirit shed her phoenix form and took the form of a woman to be his wife. It was not long before she bore him a son.

Their bliss did not last long because a monster coveted the Sun Spirit's face and waited eons for her to let her guard down. That day came on the winter solstice when the Sun's light was at it's weakest. It crept up from the spirit world, stole her face, and slithered back to where it came from. The man cried in despair when he discovered his beloved wife's faceless body. The rest of the world despaired as well for without the Sun's face, the sun will never rise. The Moon Spirit appeared to the man and told the warrior, "You can still save your wife with all she has given you! The sword forged from iron fallen from the heavens is the only thing that can harm the Face-Stealer. The mirror under the light of a full moon can open a way to the spirit world, and lastly the crown is the key. Now go, save your wife and my twin, and this world from darkness."

Sokka nudged Zuko and whispered excitedly. "Yue has a twin sister! Though the actress playing the Moon Spirit isn't as pretty as the real deal or the girl playing the Sun Spirit for that matter. You know, it may just be me but the Moon Spirit up on stage, seems kinda mannish. Oh well, maybe it's just because we're in the nosebleed section."

Zuko smirked to himself, 'I think I'll just let Sokka drool over these men in drag and then I'll tell him. It's kinda weird to watch your friend drool over a man that looks like your mother.'

The play reached it's climax. The Warrior went into the Spirit World and tracked down the Face-Stealer. The Face-Stealer was overconfident when faced with a mere mortal and gave the Warrior an opening. With the sky-iron sword in hand the Warrior sliced open the monster and took back his beloved's face. Defeated, the Face-Stealer slithered away to lick it's wounds. Before disappearing back from where it came, it left the warrior it's haunting last words. "You are mortal. I am not. I can wait."

The Warrior came back to the mortal world victorious and welcomed back by all a hero. He was crowned the first Fire Lord by his wife the Sun Spirit, ushering in a great golden age of the Fire Nation. The Warrior's time had finally come. Heartbroken, the Sun Spirit shed her mortal form becoming a great phoenix. She gave their son the three gifts that she gave to her husband and flew off back to the Spirit World. The play ended and curtain closed, leaving Zuko wondering who that actor playing the Sun Spirit was on stage was. Sokka was grinning. "So your family claims to be descendants of the Sun Spirit, guess it would explain the ego. By the way I saw the way you were looking at the woman playing the Sun Spirit, she's gorgeous isn't she?"

Zuko got up and left the theatre with Sokka trailing behind. With a smirk Zuko thought he would finally tell Sokka. "So, Sokka, hypothetically speaking, if you were single and one playing the Sun Spirit was interested, would you, well you know..." Zuko trailed off with a wink and a nudge.

Sokka took Zuko's bait with a wide grin and a leer. "Most definitely, buddy! Don't get me wrong, I love Suki but that girl on stage was how you say in the Fire Nation? Oh yeah 'smoking hot'! Hey why are you laughing?!"

Zuko dragged Sokka to one of the theatre posters of the play and pointed to the small print. "Sokka, that was an _all-male_ acting cast! That 'woman' you were drooling over on stage was a _man._"

The expression on Sokka's face was, to Zuko anyway, priceless. The Water Tribe man turned many shades paler and his mouth did a good impersonation of a fish. "You mean that was a guy?! Wait, you knew the entire time, didn't you? You let me ogle a guy in drag! And you- why do keep pointing behind me?"

Behind Sokka was a very pissed off Suki. She glared at Sokka and was breathing hard. Zuko knew that this was a very bad sign. She spoke with barely control fury. "I finally caught up with you. You're a real jerk, you know that? First I see you locking lips with some hussy wearing a phoenix mask. Then you have the guts to rant like a madman of how Azula's going to escape and kill me, and worst of all you tell me that you fell in love with Zuko before running away like a coward!"

Suki gave Sokka a few angry jabs in the stomach and a hard punch to the left side of his face, knocking Sokka to the ground. She turned like a venomous viper-bat and hissed at Zuko. "It's bad enough that I have to deal with rumors of my fiancee shacking up with the Fire Lord, but now... ARGH! I don't want to speak to either of you pig-dogs right now!"

Suki stormed off before Zuko could get a word in. On the ground Sokka was moaning in pain and looked on in the direction Suki disappeared to in shock. "Zuko? What just happened?"

Zuko shook his head and helped Sokka up. "I don't know. I think we'd better get my uncle."

The young Fire Lord was about to set off to search the tea stands in search of his uncle when he spotted the actor that played the Sun Spirit. The actor still had on the phoenix mask from the play but traded in the heavy elaborate kimono for a simple red skirt with a revealing top. Before Zuko thought that this was a man in a well done drag, now with cleavage baring top Zuko was almost certain that this was a woman. 'If that's a man, then I'm flying hogmonkey!' Zuko turned to his friend. "Sokka, go look for my uncle I'll catch up with you later."

"You sure?"

Zuko nodded and pushed his way through the crowd to where the masked woman was. Their eyes locked for a moment and Zuko knew the masked woman recognized him. 'Could it be? What if it's really my mom? I have to know!' She broke away from the crowd and ran with Zuko not far behind. Zuko chased her into a secluded grove of trees and suddenly she stopped and turned. Zuko's heart pounded. The hope that he had finally found his mother took control of his voice. "Mom?"

The masked woman stood silent for a moment and spoke words that made Zuko certain of the identity of this woman. "Zuko, I'm so sorry, but everything I've done I've done for you."

For a moment Zuko stopped breathing and tears threatened to spill over. Zuko ran over to the masked woman and hugged her. "Mom! I've missed you so much! I've sent out so many search parties! I have so many questions-"

The masked woman silenced him with a finger. "Listen, I haven't much time, and I must warn you. Azula's escaped her prison and she will enact a terrible plan that could destroy this world and so many more. Make sure you keep your crown and your friend Sokka close, you will need both if you are to stop her. I have to go now, but I promise that we will meet again and you will have your answers!"

The masked woman tore herself from Zuko's embrace. and disappeared without a trace. Zuko stood there for a moment with so many question and so few answers. One thing stood at the forefront of his mind; his mother's warning that Azula was not as locked away as he hoped she would remain. "Looks like it's time to leave."

Zuko went off in search of his friends unaware of the two figures that watched him run off back to the fray of the festival. The two figures watched as Zuko caught up with a miserable Sokka, who was now sporting a black eye from when Suki punched him. The actor who played the warrior stood next to the masked woman and smiled at her. "I saw the whole thing, you weren't kidding when you said you resembled Ursa. He hasn't seen his mother for so long that he saw her in himself, Freud would have a field day with you. At least you don't take after your father." The man's smile disappeared and he sighed. "We can't change anything, can we? All we did was set things in motion. I guess my future really is full of self inflicted pain and misery."

The masked woman put her arms around the man. "It's not all bad, Sokka, look at all the wonderful things we discovered on this crazy adventure."

Sokka took the mask off the woman, revealing a burn scar over her eye, and kissed her passionately. "One of those wonderful things being you. Our past selves over there will discover the joys of finding true love, soon enough. We'll have to get going, let's go Zuko."

**Author's Comments**: So review and tell me what you think! If you guys really like it I'll continue it after I'm done with my other fic Curse of the Goblin King. Also! Another note, Zuko and Sokka have ran into their selves from the future (Its kinda like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) and sometime in the future Zuko gets into a gender swap (Hint: the boys should have taken Aang and Iroh advice about not angering spirits), and Sokka discovers how wonderful a kisser Zuko is. So that woman present Zuko sees is actually himself and he mistakes his future self (that has gotten in touch with his feminine side) for his mother due to strong family resemblance and how much he misses his mother. He basically saw his mother in himself, as I always thought Zuko took after Ursa a whole lot more than Ozai. Hope that clears up some confusion anyone might have. Though for Zuko, it'll take a few more chapters for him to figure that out. :D


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